The Eureka Police Department was a victim of skimming devices installed on gas pumps at the MotoMart gas station, 5695 Fox Creek Road. Information from two department credit cards were used to purchase about $3,000 of diesel fuel at Kansas City-area gas stations, Capt. Michael Werges said.
He said the suspicious charges appeared on the department’s October statement. He said the cards, which may only be used to purchase gas, were charged 14 times starting on Sept. 19.
Werges said investigators have identified several suspects believed to be from Florida and were traveling the country installing devices. He said it is believed the suspects installed devices on gas pumps and stole credit card information in Farmington, also.
Eureka Police are working with the Secret Service and other law enforcement agencies to investigate the case, Werges said. He said no arrests had been made as of Tuesday.
He said Eureka Police found skimming devices on two pumps at MotoMart. The devices allowed the captured credit card data to be downloaded by the thieves from anywhere.
Werges said the city was credited back the fraudulent charges by the credit card company. He said fraudulent credit card purchases using stolen card numbers are a large problem, but most victims never report it to police.
“So the number of victims that are actually affected by, we may never know,” said Werges.
Most gas pumps will have a tamper-resistant seal across the gas pump door. If the seal is broken or appears to have been altered, police advise you to avoid using that pump and report it to a store employee.